James Vance (b. 1965, Miami, Florida) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Asbury Park, New Jersey. With a dynamic career spanning painting, drawing, sculpture, and large-scale installations, his work has been exhibited in New York, Miami, and Asbury Park, and featured in esteemed international publications such as Visionaire.
Beyond traditional fine art, Vance has made a significant impact in theatrical and commercial design, crafting immersive theater sets, large-scale set pieces, and exhibitions for major fashion and art events. His striking prop and mural work has been showcased in the iconic window displays of Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, and other high-profile venues worldwide.
Theatrical Set & Exhibition Design
2015 • DANCENOISE: Don’t Look Back, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
2002 • Dreaming in Print: A Decade of Visionaire, Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC
2001 • Sony 'Play'/A Decade of Visionaire, Spiral Garden, Tokyo
2001 • Visionaire's Exquisite Corpse, Carlton Arts Festival, Sao Paulo
1993 • DANCENOISE: Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, NYC
1992 • Kyle DeCamp, LADYLAND, The Kitchen, NYC
1992 • DANCENOISE: Hedda Gabler, Hedda Gabler, La MaMa, NYC
1991 • DANCENOISE: It’s A Girl, Wiener Festwochen (Vienna Festival), Vienna
1991 • DANCENOISE: It’s A Girl, Serious Fun At Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, NYC
1990 • DANCENOISE: When Women Had Tails, The Kitchen, NYC
1989 • DANCENOISE: All The Rage, P.S. 122, NYC
Selected Group Shows
2024 • Sea.Hear.Now Surf/Music Festival, Asbury Park Beach, NJ
2019 • Queer City: A CNN Experience, Hudson Mercantile, NYC
2018 • Tastemakers And Rule Breakers, Red Bank Design Center, Red Bank, NJ
2018 • Male Bonding, The Collective Art Tank, Asbury Park, NJ
2018 • By A Thousand Cuts, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2017 • Pleased To Meet You, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2016 • Wooden Walls / Holiday Show, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2012 • Fortune Favors The Bold, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2009 • Home Show, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
1995 • The Moderns, Feature Gallery, New York, NY
1995 • Salon des Tree, Central Park, New York, NY
1994 • Red Windows: Benefit for the Little Red School House, Barneys New York, NY
1992 • People Pleasers, Holly Solomon Gallery, New York, NY
1988 • Birdcages To Benefit Max, Pyramid Club, New York, NY
1986 • Micro, Now Gallery, New York, NY
1986 • Group Show, Artifacts Art Salon, Miami Beach, FL
1985 • Burnt Toast, Joy Moos Gallery, Miami, FL
1985 • Art on Española, Miami Beach, FL
1984 • Get Fresh, Joy Moos Gallery, Miami, FL
Selected Bibliography
2017 • Billy Anania, Asbury Artist Takes Numbers In Infinite Directions, The Asbury Park Press
2016 • Richard Virgilio, Wooden Walls Art Project Artist James Vance Talks About #1871, The Asbury Park Press
2016 • Billy Anania, Asbury Park Mural Project Pushes Beauty to the North Side, The Asbury Park Press
2015 • Hilton Als, Summer Encounters, The New Yorker
2015 • Gia Knurls, The Whitney Embraces Dancenoise, a Brash ’80s Performance Duo, The New York Times
2015 • Siobhan Burke, Dancenoise Brings Biting Commentary (and Fake Blood) to the Whitney, The New York Times
2013 • Jennifer Paull, Bergdorf Goodman’s Literary Windows, Book Riot (blog)
2010 • Windows at Bergdorf Goodman, Assouline
2008 • Modern Paper Lighting, Lighting Trends (blog)
2008 • The Art of James Vance, Rochambeau (blog)
2002 • Dreaming In Print: A Decade Of Visionaire, Edition 7L
1998 • Simon Doonan, Confessions of a Window Dresser, Callaway Editions
1999 • David Bonney, Fantasy Island, Oyster Magazine
1996 • Visionaire No. 16 Calendar, (Father’s Day) Visionaire Publishing
1993 • Herbert Muschamp, Windows to the Mind of Christmas, Devouring Passion, The New York Times
1993 • Visionaire No. 10 The Alphabet, (F) Visionaire Publishing
1993 • Mayer Rus, Barneys New York & Yokohama, Interior Design, SANDOW
1993 • Jennifer Dunning, Dance in Review, The New York Times
1991 • Jennifer Dunning, Travel Hints to Doomsday Courtesy of Dancenoise, The New York Times
1986 • Robert Becker, Miami: Creating a Scene, Interview Magazine